Pylons
Pylons of Kalla Pylons are a unique and distinctive feature of Kalla. Impossibly ancient (hundreds of thousands of years, at least), they were built from black stone made resilient with a unknown clear solid material. They are uniform in structure, standing around 350m tall. Each has a broad base with a doorway leading into a long winding stair. Ante-rooms of unknown purpose appear at regular intervals; these are often used as dormitories or facilities by the pylon’s ‘crew’, although in some locations they are more likely to live in more comfortable accommodations nearby. Some doors remain closed and no method – mechanical or magical – has been found to open these. Traditional holds that these hold guardians of the pylon who will emerge in times of crisis, though there has been no living witness of this happening Centuries of arcane study have led scholars to believe that these pylons were constructed to regulate and channel the flow of magical energy around Kala, rendering magic less powerful but also less volatile and easier to control at lower levels. Theories as to why abound, from the benign to the sinister, though as the unknown constructors of the pylons are presumably long-disappeared The pylons are spread relatively evenly across Kala, and tend to be found somewhat inland on moderately elevated ground away from high mountains and areas of geological instability. The significance of the locations of the pylons is unknown, though it is thought that they reflect the secondary function of the pylons – magical transportation. Every (functional) pylon contains an uppermost room with two large hemispheres – each around 50 feet in diameter of opaque magical mist. The pylon operator manipulates an arcane sequence of sigils, causing the hemisphere to rapidly shrink and instantaneously reappear – with anything inside it – in the next corresponding pylon along the chain. The hemisphere can only exist in one pylon at a time, so an operator must return the hemisphere (with or without occupants) before it can be used again. Each pylon connects with two others in a chain – one each way – so in a fully operational network a traveller could go full circle through each pylon back to their starting point. The inherent magic of the pylons also disrupts teleportation magic, which are impossible in the area (around twenty miles) around the pylon (including above or below), and within ten miles of the magical ‘stream’ between pylons. Notably, wish spells cannot be cast (by any spellcaster) within the same radius, and mind-control/telepathy magic or psionics are also severely disrupted. While the pylons allow for rapid communication, the relatively small size of the hemispheres and the back-and-forth mechanism don’t facilitate mass intercontinental transit or trade. Typically, access to pylons is highly guarded and privileged; indeed in some areas many common folk are unaware of what the pylon’s actual functions are, as their use is limited to diplomats, politicians, high-ranking officials and scholars, and other esteemed persons (and perhaps spies and assassins in that guise), as well as Messengers. Broken and lost pylons. It is believed that 37 pylons were built originally; of these, the location of two are completely unknown to civilised societies, the vague location of two others is known, and two others are known but inoperative – one through its use being forbidden, and the other through mysterious sabotage. Whether the lost pylons are inoperative, broken or otherwise non-functioning is unknown. 23 remain functional and in use, in five separate 'chains'. Relationship to the floating cities It seems probable that the pylons and the floating cities were constructed by the same ancient society. As the floating cities act as magical foci, and are apparently powered by magic, their relationship with the pylons is uncertain. It is curious that little or no other apparent evidence of this ancient society remains – or at least has yet been uncovered. Messengers and operators The pylons accommodate a range of staff – they are very well guarded by elite soldiers and magicians, with attendant entourage of cooks, domestic workers and so on, along with a cadre of clerical staff, often two or three privileged wizards, sages or scholars, a Pylon Master/Mistress and two specific subset roles which are typically hereditary or sometime recruited through mysterious means – the Operators and the Messengers. Operators spend nearly their whole lives in and near the Pylon. They have mastered the strange art of working the hemispheres, which can take many years to learn. Though few in number and typically unskilled in combat or magic, their arcane and closely guarded knowledge grants them immense power as gatekeepers. The magical effect of the pylons, as with teleportation magic, severely curtails all but the most complex and powerful mind-reading/control magic. Even so, the Operator train in techniques of extraordinary mental discipline to build ‘mental fortresses’, so even were an Operator successfully subjected to mind-reading or mind-control, their knowledge can be dispersed, encoded and hidden in the recesses of their mental architecture. Operators are usually human as they are the race which seems most adept at shaping their mental process and memory structure, though Gith, Dwarf and Half-elf Operators have been known. Operators are usually talented magic users, though they rarely if ever use their magical abilities. If the Operators are cloistered and elusive, Messengers are worldly and outgoing. Their role is to act as intercontinental couriers, highly trained in the arts of both memory and forgetting. In civilised societies, Messengers are a rare but well-known sight, and like Operators they occupy a uniquely protected position. Violence against Messengers is strictly forbidden, though in the savage, wild places Messengers must often traverse such protections become meaningless. As such, Messengers train in arts of stealth, combat and magical protection, as well as languages and mental discipline. It’s not unusual for Messengers to recruit temporary entourages, with occasional long-term appointment of bodyguards or reliable and loyal factotums. It is thought that messengers have also, on occasion, been commissioned to find or retrieve valuable items or information, or – darker still – carry out assassinations (though no Messenger has ever admitted such a deed). Each pylon usually acts as the base for 12 or more messengers; it isn’t unusual for Messengers to retire after a decade or so, and they often take on prominent diplomatic roles for their home peoples. Pylon Masters are often former Messengers with a talent for organisation, though equally often Messengers disappear into quiet lives of obscurity. The exception is a distinct sub-class of highly talented and experienced Messengers who take on the role of Hunters. Hunters are tasked with finding Messengers who have seemingly gone missing or failed to report in (and, it is rumoured, more secret missions besides). As Messengers often carry extremely important information and/or items, it is essential to ascertain the fate not just of the Messenger, but of their cargo. Hunters typically investigate Messengers not native to their Pylon. It is thought that a secret cadre of Hunters is seeking out (or may already know of) the lost pylons. Messengers are frequently human, but they are more varied in race than Operators – Gith, Dwarf, Halfling, Half-Elf, Half-Orc, Elf, Gnome and even Tiefling and dragonborn messengers are not unknown. At any given time, there are rarely more than 1,000 active Messengers, with around 1400-1600 training (not all make the grade) and perhaps 100-120 hunters, as well as probably around 2000-3000 retired Messengers. Pylon guards – at least on the three main extant chains of pylons – are an elite unit sworn to protect the pylon. They tend to be drawn from the local area, though in some cases they are levied from the elite units in state militaries. These units are expected to seek out active combat experience and will often be found questing or adventuring, and if not drawn from the military in the first place will often seek out military secondment. It is maintained that unknown forces will emerge to protect pylons in times of crisis, though this tradition has never been witnessed.